HWCD’s Bamboo Courtyard Teahouse embraces traditional Chinese garden design by blending into the natural environment. The floating structure has a square envelope composed of a series of tea rooms organized around an open courtyard in the middle. The rooms and outdoor seating areas all face inwards towards the internal pavilion, but all rooms have views of the surrounding lake.

Bamboo is arranged vertically and horizontally to produce depth and visual effects, and the natural material provides a tacit connection to nature. Gaps in the bamboo encourage natural ventilation, and at night interior lights shine through to create a soft glow. Brick is also used in the construction of the rooms to provide shade and retain heat in the winter, reducing dependency on the building’s mechanical heating and cooling system.